Wandering Stars
By: Minamoto no Kimi
A Harukanaru Toki no Naka de Hachiyoushou A.U. Fan Fiction Piece
DISCLAIMERS:
Harukanaru Toki no Naka de Hachiyoushou © Ruby Party and KOEI
Takenaka Setsuko, Sato Eiri, Nadeshiko-hime and other related characters © Minamoto no Kimi
NOTES:
The title and the concept for this story involve the idea of a "wandering star," which is the old, archaic term for "planet." The term can also be used in an astrological sense to refer to people who have not followed what was pre-ordained for them. The story refers to the term in both ways.
Also, I might have changed more than a few things around, since when I refer to "monsters" or "demons" here, I mean things like kappa and kitsune and the like, not demons in the same sense as the Oni Clan. I also know that Yomi is a place, not an entity, but I hope purists out there will forgive me for bending and twisting Japanese folklore and mythology around to suit the purposes of my story.
RATING: T
TEASER:
A year after the Ryuujin no Miko's departure from Kyou, odd things are happening. Monsters from the time of the gods have begun to appear, ravaging the countryside and threatening the peace that everyone had thought would finally return to the world with the restoration of the Four Gods and the return of the Ryuujin.
It is Abe no Yasuaki and Fuji-hime who realize what is wrong: the two Wandering Stars - the Ryuujin no Musume, the Daughters of Ryuujin - have yet to fulfill their destinies, for they have fled far, far away, fearing the destruction of the Four Gods and of their father.
In the meantime, Motomiya Akane, Morimura Tenma, and Nagareyama Shimon, with their friends Takenaka Setsuko and Sato Eiri, are heading to a temple to pray for a successful school year, when Setsuko and Eiri are kidnapped by a strange shadow that emerges from a stone well. Not a few moments later, a shape that resembles the Ryuujin emerges, and this time, takes Akane, Shimon, and Tenma, thus bringing them to Kyou - but with neither Eiri nor Setsuko in sight.
It is now up to Akane and the reunited Hachiyou to find the two missing girls, before the darkness of the god Yomi swallows up Kyou, and wraps it in darkness everlasting.
First Star: The Legend of the Wandering Stars
Everyone in Kyou – from the youngest child running in the streets, to the oldest monk in the most distant temple – knows the story of the Ryuujin and of the Ryuujin no Miko. It is said that when the land of Kyou is threatened, and not even the Four Gods who have long protected this land can save it, the Ryuujin no Miko will descend from the heavens and, with the help of her eight Hachiyou, protect this land and restore peace and prosperity.
That is indeed what came to pass. When the Oni Clan attempted to destroy this land of Kyou, the Ryuujin no Miko came, as foretold, and with her Hachiyou banished the Oni Clan from Kyou, that their evil may never disturb the land again.
However, this was only the beginning, for though the Four Gods and Ryuujin were restored to their rightful place, and the Ryuujin no Miko returned to the heavens after fulfilling her duty, the fortune and prosperity she had left behind did not last. A year has passed, and monsters have appeared from out of nowhere, ravaging the land and destroying all that was thought to be safe – not even the city could be considered a safe haven anymore.
In a desperate bid to find out what could have gone wrong, I have searched for the root of this problem, and I have found my answer in a legend: that of the Wandering Stars, the Lost Daughters of Ryuujin.
It is said that, long ago, Ryuujin took the form of a mortal man, and fell in love with a mortal woman. No one remembers her name: some say that she was a lower-ranking gentlewoman in the service of the Empress; others say that she was the Empress herself. Regardless, it is known that she gave birth to two daughters, born a year apart, but on the same day. When the youngest was born, Ryuujin declared his identity to the woman, and made her promise that she would love and raise these daughters, for, as the Daughters of Ryuujin, they were fated to fulfill a great destiny. And with that, he disappeared, returning to his rightful place in the heavens.
It is not known what happened after that. It is said that the two sisters were raised in the palace, serving as gentlewomen to the Empress herself, until the day that the Oni Clan first appeared. When that happened, the sisters disappeared, and so, too, did the Morning Star and Evening Star that formerly rode high in the skies of Kyou. It is said that they fled in fear, for as the Daughters of Ryuujin, they were far-sighted, and could see the destruction that the Oni Clan would bring, as well as the role they must play, for it would be their destiny to secure the place of their father and of the Four Gods. Whether they feared for their own lives, or their destiny, is not known. They have never been found since, and the heavens are devoid of the beauty of the Morning and Evening Stars.
It is only now that the repercussions of this event have come back to haunt the people of Kyou. It is only now that the presence of the Wandering Stars is sorely wanted. They have eluded their destiny – but they cannot do so any longer. Now, more than ever, they are needed by the people of Kyou.
I, Hoshi no Fuji, pray, with all my heart, that they return to Kyou, and restore true peace to this world.
---x---
The air was cold as it stirred around him; the mountains exhaling the last of their frost-rimed breath as winter gradually released its hold on Kyou and its environs. The trees had yet to put forth so much as a hint of their foliage, so that the last full moon of winter lay cradled amidst the spindly branches of the bare plum and cherry trees: a brilliant, enormous pearl clasped between the grasping fingers of a witch.
In the distance, high-pitched wails carried on the wind, bone-chilling and frightening. Some part of him was glad that it was not human, though at the same time, the very fact that it was not human was troubling.
They are coming closer everyday, he thought, and he glanced up at the sky. Although the moon and all the usual stars were there, there was one glaring mistake in this beautiful nightscape: the empty spot in the sky where the Evening Star was supposed to be. It had been that way for no one knew how long, for no one could remember the time when the Wandering Stars were born, or when they disappeared, taking the Morning and Evening Stars from the sky. All that was known was that it happened long ago, in the far-distant past before the Oni Clan had come.
But now, more than ever, they had to step forward. Now, more than ever, their presence was needed in this realm. The Four Gods and Ryuujin himself struggled to keep Kyou safe, but not even they could stop the monster spawn of Yomi.
Abe no Yasuaki closed his eyes, his spirit reaching out to the void, reaching out to the immense heavens, searching, seeking. "Where are you, Ryuujin no Musume? Where are you, Wandering Stars?"
His awareness spread like the branches of a tree, cutting through time and space and into realms beyond. "Return, Daughters of Ryuujin. Return, and fulfill your destiny."
Against the walls of the mountains, the thunder rolled, and underneath it, he thought he heard the sound of running footsteps…and of young women, weeping.